Battery terminal stopper and battery terminal unit

ABSTRACT

A battery terminal unit includes a battery terminal that is assembled on a battery post and also includes a battery terminal stopper. The battery terminal stopper includes a first rotation preventing portion that abuts against a first abutment surface formed on a side surface of a battery housing in a state where the battery terminal is assembled on the battery post so as to be able to restrict rotation of the battery terminal about the battery post as the rotating center. The battery terminal stopper also includes a second rotation preventing portion that abuts against a second abutment surface formed on the battery housing along a direction intersecting with the first abutment surface in the assembled state so as to be able to restrict rotation of the battery terminal about the battery post as the rotating center.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to and incorporates by referencethe entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-262605 filedin Japan on Dec. 19, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a battery terminal stopper and abattery terminal unit.

2. Description of the Related Art

As a conventional battery terminal stopper and battery terminal unit,for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-40258discloses a battery terminal unit including a battery terminal that isconnected to a battery post provided upright on a battery and arotational movement restricting member that is attached to the batteryterminal and is made of a synthetic resin. The rotational movementrestricting member of the battery terminal unit has a configuration inwhich it abuts against the battery in a state where the battery terminalis connected to the battery post so as to restrict an assembled angle ofthe battery terminal with respect to the battery post.

The battery terminal unit as described in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-open No. 2010-40258 has been desired to be further improved inassembling accuracy of the battery terminal on the battery post inconsideration of a space for mounting the battery, for example.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentionedcircumferences and an object thereof is to provide a battery terminalstopper and a battery terminal unit that can improve assembling accuracyof a battery terminal on a battery post.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to at least partially solve theproblems in the conventional technology.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a battery terminalstopper includes an attachment portion capable of being attached to abattery terminal that is assembled on a battery post provided on abattery housing; a first rotation preventing portion configured to beprovided on the attachment portion, oppose a first abutment surfaceformed on a side surface of the battery housing, and abut against thefirst abutment surface in a state where the battery terminal isassembled on the battery post together with the attachment portion so asto be able to restrict rotation of the battery terminal about thebattery post as a rotating center; and a second rotation preventingportion configured to be provided on the attachment portion, oppose asecond abutment surface formed on the battery housing along a directionintersecting with the first abutment surface, and abut against thesecond abutment surface in the state where the battery terminal isassembled on the battery post together with the attachment portion so asto be able to restrict rotation of the battery terminal about thebattery post as the rotating center.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the secondabutment surface is formed on a wall surface of a recess that is formedon a post stand surface provided with the battery post and on which thebattery post is provided upright in the battery housing, the wallsurface being orthogonal to the side surface of the battery housing onwhich the first abutment surface is formed.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the secondabutment surface is formed on a side surface of the battery housing thatis orthogonal to the side surface of the battery housing on which thefirst abutment surface is formed.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the firstrotation preventing portion and the second rotation preventing portionare formed integrally with the attachment portion, and the attachmentportion is interposed between the battery terminal and the batteryhousing in a state where the battery terminal is assembled on thebattery post together with the attachment portion.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a batteryterminal unit includes a battery terminal configured to be assembled ona battery post provided on a battery housing; and a battery terminalstopper configured to include an attachment portion capable of beingattached to the battery terminal, a first rotation preventing portionthat is provided on the attachment portion, opposes a first abutmentsurface formed on a side surface of the battery housing and abutsagainst the first abutment surface in a state where the battery terminalis assembled on the battery post together with the attachment portion soas to be able to restrict rotation of the battery terminal about thebattery post as a rotating center, and a second rotation preventingportion that is provided on the attachment portion, opposes a secondabutment surface formed on the battery housing along a directionintersecting with the first abutment surface and abuts against thesecond abutment surface in the state where the battery terminal isassembled on the battery post together with the attachment portion so asto be able to restrict rotation of the battery terminal about thebattery post as the rotating center.

The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical andindustrial significance of this invention will be better understood byreading the following detailed description of presently preferredembodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of a battery terminal unit according to a first embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial plan view illustrating the schematic configurationof the battery terminal unit according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the schematic configuration ofa battery terminal according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of the battery terminal unit according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the schematic configuration ofthe battery terminal unit according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view when seen from an arrow A in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view when seen from an arrow B in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a partial plan view for explaining an allowable range of anassembled angle of the battery terminal unit according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 9 is a partial plan view for explaining the allowable range of theassembled angle of the battery terminal unit according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of a battery terminal unit according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a partial plan view illustrating the schematic configurationof the battery terminal unit according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of the battery terminal unit according to the secondembodiment;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating the schematic configurationof the battery terminal unit according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a partial plan view illustrating the schematic configurationof a battery terminal unit according to a modification;

FIG. 15 is a partial plan view illustrating the schematic configurationof a battery terminal unit according to another modification;

FIG. 16 is a partial plan view illustrating the schematic configurationof a battery terminal unit according to still another modification; and

FIG. 17 is a partial plan view illustrating the schematic configurationof a battery terminal unit according to still another modification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Theembodiments do not limit the invention. The constituent components inthe following embodiments include constituent components that can bereplaced by those skilled in the art or are substantially the same.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of a battery terminal unit according to a firstembodiment. FIG. 2 is a partial plan view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of the battery terminal unit according to the firstembodiment. In the following description, the direction along a centeraxis line X of a battery post is referred to as an axial direction. Inorder to make the following description be understood easily, one of twodirections orthogonal to the axial direction is referred to as along-side direction (first width direction) and the other of them isreferred to as a short-side direction (second width direction) for theconvenience. The axial direction, the long-side direction, and theshort-side direction are orthogonal to one another.

A battery terminal unit 1 in the embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 1 andFIG. 2 is assembled on a battery post 51 of a battery 50 and includes abattery terminal 2 and a battery terminal stopper 3.

The battery 50 to which the battery terminal unit 1 is applied ismounted on a vehicle or the like as a power accumulation device, forexample. The battery 50 includes a battery housing 52 and the batterypost 51 provided in the battery housing 52. The battery housing 52accommodates battery liquid and various components constituting thebattery 50. The battery housing 52 includes a housing main body 53having a substantially rectangular box shape and a lid member 54, and isformed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape entirely.Any one of the surfaces of the housing main body 53 is opened. The lidmember 54 closes the opened surface. Although the direction along thelong-side direction of the battery housing 52 corresponds to the longersides thereof and the direction along the short-side direction of thebattery housing 52 corresponds to the shorter sides thereof, theconfiguration of the battery housing 52 is not limited thereto. Thebattery post 51 is formed by lead or the like and is provided upright ona post stand surface 55 of the lid member 54. The post stand surface 55is a surface of the battery housing 52 on which the battery post 51 isprovided upright. For example, the post stand surface 55 is an uppersurface of the lid member 54 in the vertical direction in a state wherethe battery 50 is mounted on the vehicle or the like. The battery post51 has a substantially columnar shape and is provided upright so as toproject onto the post stand surface 55 with a positional relation thatthe center axis line X thereof is orthogonal to the post stand surface55. To be more specific, the battery post 51 in the embodiment isprovided upright in a recess 56 formed in the vicinity of a cornerposition of the post stand surface 55. The recess 56 is a portiondepressed into a substantially rectangular shape in the vicinity of thecorner position of the post stand surface 55. The battery post 51 isprovided upright in the recess 56. The battery post 51 is tapered suchthat the diameter thereof is smaller toward the front end side in theaxial direction typically. That is to say, the battery post 51 has atapered shape that the outer diameter of the front end is smaller thanthe outer diameter of the base end.

The battery terminal unit 1 in the embodiment limits an assembled angleof the battery terminal 2 with respect to the battery post 51 byrestricting rotation of the battery terminal 2 about the center axisline X of the battery post 51 as the rotating center by the batteryterminal stopper 3 in a state where the battery terminal 2 is assembledon the battery post 51. With this configuration, the battery terminalunit 1 tries to improve assembling accuracy of the battery terminal 2.The following describes the respective configurations of the batteryterminal unit 1 in detail.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the schematic configuration ofthe battery terminal in the first embodiment. First, the configurationof the battery terminal 2 is described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2,and FIG. 3.

The battery terminal 2 is a component that is attached to the batterypost 51 so as to electrically connect the battery 50 and a clasp or thelike provided on a terminal end of an electric wire on a main body ofthe vehicle or the like on which the battery 50 is mounted. The batteryterminal 2 includes a main body portion 21, a stud bolt 22, and aclumping portion 23.

The main body portion 21 is configured by integrally forming a pair ofring-like portions 21 a and 21 b, a pair of bolt holding portions 21 cand 21 d, and a bending coupling portion 21 e by press foldingprocessing of a metal plate having conductivity, for example. The pairof ring-like portions 21 a and 21 b are formed into substantiallyrectangular shapes and include post insertion holes 21 f and 21 g formedinto substantially circular shapes into which the battery post 51 isinserted, respectively. The pair of bolt holding portions 21 c and 21 dare formed into substantially rectangular shapes and the bolt holdingportion 21 c includes a bolt insertion hole 21 h having a substantiallycircular shape into which the stud bolt 22 is inserted. The bolt holdingportion 21 c is formed integrally with the ring-like portion 21 a in acontinuous manner and the bolt holding portion 21 d is formed integrallywith the ring-like portion 21 b in a continuous manner. The ring-likeportion 21 a and the ring-like portion 21 b are formed integrally suchthat end portions at the side opposite to end portions on which the boltholding portions 21 c and 21 d are provided are continuous through thebending coupling portion 21 e. With this configuration, the main bodyportion 21 is formed into a state of being folded back in a U-turn formwith the bending coupling portion 21 e interposed. The main body portion21 is formed such that the ring-like portion 21 a and the ring-likeportion 21 b, and the bolt holding portion 21 c and the bolt holdingportion 21 d are laminated vertically in a state where the ring-likeportion 21 a and the bolt holding portion 21 c, and the ring-likeportion 21 b and the bolt holding portion 21 d are substantiallyparallel with each other.

The vertically laminated state typically corresponds to a state wherethey are laminated along the axial direction of the battery post 51 whenthe battery terminal 2 is assembled on the battery post 51. Thelamination direction typically corresponds to the direction along theaxial direction in the state where the battery terminal 2 is assembledon the battery post 51. The side at which a shaft portion 22 a of thestud bolt 22, which will be describe later, projects corresponds to theupper side in the lamination direction, and the opposite sidecorresponds to the lower side in the lamination direction. Furthermore,the upper side in the lamination direction corresponds to the front endside of the battery post 51, and the lower side in the laminationdirection corresponds to the base end side of the battery post 51. Themain body portion 21 is arranged such that the ring-like portion 21 aand the bolt holding portion 21 c are at the upper side in thelamination direction and the ring-like portion 21 b and the bolt holdingportion 21 d are at the lower side in the lamination direction.

The post insertion hole 21 f and the post insertion hole 21 g are formedon the pair of ring-like portions 21 a and 21 b, respectively, with apositional relation that the post insertion hole 21 f and the postinsertion hole 21 g oppose to each other in the lamination direction inthe state where the ring-like portions 21 a and 21 b are laminatedvertically through the bending coupling portion 21 e. The innercircumferential wall surfaces of the post insertion hole 21 f and thepost insertion hole 21 g are formed by folding back a sheet metal in thesame direction, in this example, to the lower side. The innercircumferential wall surfaces of the post insertion hole 21 f and thepost insertion hole 21 g are tapered so as to correspond to the taperedportions of the battery post 51. The inner diameters of the postinsertion hole 21 f and the post insertion hole 21 g at the side atwhich the shaft portion 22 a of the stud bolt 22, which will bedescribed later, projects, that is, at the post insertion hole 21 f sideare minimum and the inner diameters thereof at the opposite side, thatis, at the post insertion hole 21 g side are maximum. The respectiveinner circumferential surfaces of the post insertion hole 21 f and thepost insertion hole 21 g make contact with the battery post 51 in astate where the battery post 51 is inserted thereinto. Furthermore, edgeportions of the pair of ring-like portions 21 a and 21 b between thebending coupling portion 21 e and the pair of bolt holding portions 21 cand 21 d are folded back toward each other. Folding-back portions 21 iand 21 j of the pair of ring-like portions 21 a and 21 b that are formedto have projections and recesses are engaged with each other.

The pair of bolt holding portions 21 c and 21 d are subject to foldingprocessing in a state where the stud bolt 22 is inserted into the boltinsertion hole 21 h previously before the folding processing. With thisconfiguration, the bolt holding portions 21 c and 21 d hold the studbolt 22 in a state of being laminated vertically through the bendingcoupling portion 21 e. That is to say, the main body portion 21 holdsthe stud bolt 22 between the holding portion 21 c and the bolt holdingportion 21 d in the lamination direction of the pair of bolt holdingportions 21 c and 21 d.

The stud bolt 22 is exposed such that the shaft portion 22 a projectsfrom the bolt insertion hole 21 h in a state of being held between thebolt holding portion 21 c and the bolt holding portion 21 d. The claspor the like provided on the terminal end of the electric wire iselectrically connected to the shaft portion 22 a of the stud bolt 22that is exposed from the bolt insertion hole 21 h.

The main body portion 21 includes a slit (gap) 21 k formed on thebending coupling portion 21 e and the ring-like portions 21 a and 21 bso as to extend to the post insertion hole 21 f and the post insertionhole 21 g from the bending coupling portion 21 e.

The clumping portion 23 is a member for clumping the pair of ring-likeportions 21 a and 21 b to the battery post 51 in the state where thebattery post 51 is inserted into the post insertion hole 21 f and thepost insertion hole 21 g. The clumping portion 23 includes a bolt 23 aand a nut 23 b. The bolt 23 a is inserted from one end portion of thebending coupling portion 21 e with a positional relation of crossing theslit 21 k. That is to say, the bolt 23 a is inserted into an insertionhole portion formed between the pair of ring-like portions 21 a and 21 bin a state of being laminated vertically through the bending couplingportion 21 e so as to cross the slit 21 k. The nut 23 b is screwedtogether with the front end portion of the bolt 23 a that is exposedfrom the other end portion of the bending coupling portion 21 e.

The battery terminal 2 configured as described above is assembled on thebattery post 51 by inserting the battery post 51 into the post insertionhole 21 f and the post insertion hole 21 g with the positional relationthat the shaft portion 22 a of the stud bolt 22 is exposed. The bolt 23a and the nut 23 b of the clumping portion 23 of the battery terminal 2are clumped in a state where the inner circumferential surfaces of thepost insertion hole 21 f and the post insertion hole 21 g make contactwith the outer circumferential surface of the battery post 51. Thiscauses both sides of the bending coupling portion 21 e and the ring-likeportions 21 a and 21 b to be clumped in the directions of making closerto each other with the slit 21 k interposed therebetween. With thisconfiguration, the diameters of the post insertion hole 21 f and thepost insertion hole 21 g are made to be decreased in the state where theinner circumferential surfaces of the post insertion hole 21 f and thepost insertion hole 21 g make contact with the outer circumferentialsurface of the battery post 51, so that the battery terminal 2 isclumped to the battery post 51 with a tightening force by the clumpingportion 23. Furthermore, the clasp or the like provided on the terminalend of the electric wire is electrically connected to the shaft portion22 a of the stud bolt 22 of the battery terminal 2. On the other hand,when the bolt 23 a and the nut 23 b of the clumping portion 23 of thebattery terminal 2 are loosened, both the sides of the bending couplingportion 21 e and the ring-like portions 21 a and 21 b are loosened inthe direction of being separated from each other with the slit 21 kinterposed therebetween. This enlarges the diameters of the postinsertion hole 21 f and the post insertion hole 21 g, so that thebattery terminal 2 can be detached from the battery post 51.

In the battery terminal unit 1 according to the embodiment, the batteryterminal stopper 3 is attached to the battery terminal 2 before thebattery terminal 2 is assembled on the battery post 51. This can improvethe assembling accuracy of the battery terminal 2.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of the battery terminal unit in the first embodiment. FIG.5 is a perspective view illustrating the schematic configuration of thebattery terminal unit in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view whenseen from an arrow A in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a view when seen from an arrowB in FIG. 5. The configuration of the battery terminal stopper 3 isdescribed with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 to FIG. 7.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, for example, the battery terminalstopper 3 is a member interposed between the lid member 54 of thebattery housing 52 and the battery terminal 2. The battery terminalstopper 3 includes an attachment portion 31, a lid portion 32, a firstrotation preventing portion 33, and a second rotation preventing portion34. The battery terminal stopper 3 in the embodiment is configured byintegrally forming the attachment portion 31, the lid portion 32, thefirst rotation preventing portion 33, and the second rotation preventingportion 34 with a synthetic resin material or the like in order to givecorrosion resistance (anticorrosive function) to the battery liquid tothe battery terminal stopper 3.

The attachment portion 31 is a portion capable of being attached to thebattery terminal 2. As illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, for example,the attachment portion 31 is attached to the side of the ring-likeportion 21 b and the bolt holding portion 21 d of the battery terminal2, that is, at the lower side thereof in the lamination direction so asto cover the lower sides of the ring-like portion 21 b and the boltholding portion 21 d in the lamination direction. The attachment portion31 includes an accommodation recess 31 a accommodating the ring-likeportion 21 b and the bolt holding portion 21 d by forming wall surfaceson a plate-like member. A plate-like portion constituting the bottomportion of the accommodation recess 31 a of the attachment portion 31 isinterposed between the ring-like portion 21 b and the bolt holdingportion 21 d and the lid member 54 of the battery housing 52.

The attachment portion 31 includes three temporary locking claws 31 b,31 c, and 31 d and a post insertion hole 31 e having a substantiallycircular shape that are formed in the accommodation recess 31 a. Thetemporary locking claws 31 b, 31 c, and 31 d are claws for temporarilylocking the battery terminal 2. The battery post 51 is inserted into thepost insertion hole 31 e. The temporary locking claw 31 b and thetemporary locking claw 31 c are formed at the sides of the postinsertion hole 31 e. The temporary locking claw 31 b and the temporarylocking claw 31 c are formed at positions next to the post insertionhole 31 e and at symmetrical positions with respect to the postinsertion hole 31 e in the direction (hereinafter, referred to as“long-side direction” simply in some cases) as the long-side directionof the battery terminal unit 1 in the state where the battery terminalunit 1 is assembled on the battery post 51. The temporary locking claw31 d is formed at a position separated from the post insertion hole 31 ein the direction (hereinafter, referred to as “short-side direction”simply in some cases) as the short-side direction of the batteryterminal unit 1 in the state where the battery terminal unit 1 isassembled on the battery post 51. When the attachment portion 31 isattached to the battery terminal 2, the temporary locking claw 31 b isengaged with a space 211 (see FIG. 3) next to the folding-back portions21 i and 21 j of the battery terminal 2, the temporary locking claw 31 cis engaged with a space 21 m (see FIG. 4) next to the folding-backportions 21 i and 21 j, and the temporary locking claw 31 d is engagedwith a space 21 n (see FIG. 3) between the bolt holding portion 21 c andthe bolt holding portion 21 d. This configuration enables the attachmentportion 31 to temporarily lock the battery terminal 2 in theaccommodation recess 31 a. The post insertion hole 31 e opposes the postinsertion holes 21 f and 21 g along the axial direction (hereinafter,referred to as “axial direction” simply in some cases) when the batteryterminal unit 1 is assembled on the battery post 51 in the state wherethe attachment portion 31 temporarily locks the battery terminal 2. Inother words, the temporary locking claws 31 b, 31 c, and 31 d and thepost insertion hole 31 e are formed on the attachment portion 31 so asto satisfy a positional relation that the post insertion hole 31 eopposes the post insertion holes 21 f and 21 g along the axial directionin the state where the attachment portion 31 temporarily locks thebattery terminal 2. Furthermore, in the state where the battery terminal2 is temporarily locked by the attachment portion 31, the innercircumferential wall surface of the post insertion hole 21 g is fittedinto the post insertion hole 31 e of the attachment portion 31. Thelower side of the attachment portion 31 in the lamination direction,that is, the surface of the attachment portion 31 at the side opposingthe lid member 54 in the state where the battery terminal unit 1 isassembled on the battery post 51 is reinforced by a reinforcing rib orthe like.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, for example, the lid portion 32 isattached at the side of the ring-like portion 21 a of the batteryterminal 2, that is, at the upper side in the lamination direction so asto cover a part of the upper side of the ring-like portion 21 a in thelamination direction. The lid portion 32 is coupled to the attachmentportion 31 so as to be opened and closed. The lid portion 32 is madeinto the closed state in the state where the battery terminal 2 istemporarily locked by the attachment portion 31, so that the batteryterminal 2 can be held between the lid portion 32 and the attachmentportion 31. The lid portion 32 is restricted so as not to be opened whena lock portion 32 a (also see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, for example) is lockedto the attachment portion 31 side in the state of holding the batteryterminal 2 between the lid portion 32 and the attachment portion 31,that is, in the closed state. This enables the battery terminal 2 to befinally fixed. That is to say, the battery terminal stopper 3 sandwichesthe battery terminal 2 between the attachment portion 31 and the lidportion 32 so as to keep the sandwiching state with the lock portion 32a. With this configuration, the battery terminal stopper 3 is assembledon the battery terminal 2. A semi-circular cut-out 32 b into which thebattery post 51 is inserted is formed on the lid portion 32 on a portionoverlapping with the post insertion holes 21 f, 21 g, and 31 e in theaxial direction in the state where the battery terminal 2 is finallyfixed. The cut-out 32 b is formed so as to correspond to the shape ofthe battery post 51.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, the firstrotation preventing portion 33 is provided on the attachment portion 31.The first rotation preventing portion 33 is provided at a positionopposing a first abutment surface 57 formed on the battery housing 52 inthe state where the battery terminal 2 is assembled on the battery post51 together with the attachment portion 31 (hereinafter, referred to as“assembled state” simply in some cases) (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, forexample). The first abutment surface 57 is formed on the side surface ofthe battery housing 52, in this embodiment, the side surface along theshort-side direction in the vicinity of the recess 56 formed on the poststand surface 55 of the lid member 54. The first rotation preventingportion 33 abuts against the first abutment surface 57 in the assembledstate so as to be able to restrict rotation of the battery terminal 2around the axial direction about the center axis line X of the batterypost 51 as the rotating center.

To be more specific, the first rotation preventing portion 33 isprovided to extend from the attachment portion 31, and includes aplate-like portion 33 a opposing the first abutment surface 57 in theassembled state, and a plurality of longitudinal ribs 33 b and aplurality of transverse ribs 33 c for reinforcing the plate-like portion33 a. The plate-like portion 33 a is formed into a plate form along theshort-side direction. The plate-like portion 33 a is provided to extendfrom the position in the vicinity of the corner of the lid member 54 tothe position beyond the wall surface (wall surface on which a secondabutment surface 58, which will be described later, is formed) definingthe recess 56 along the short-side direction. The plate-like portion 33a includes the longitudinal ribs 33 b and the transverse ribs 33 c thatare formed on an opposing surface opposing the first abutment surface 57and the rear surface of the opposing surface. The longitudinal ribs 33 bare projecting reinforcing portions extending along the axial directionand the transverse ribs 33 c are projecting reinforcing portionsextending along the short-side direction. Some of the longitudinal ribs33 b are provided to extend to the attachment portion 31 so as toreinforce a coupling portion between the plate-like portion 33 a and theattachment portion 31. Furthermore, the front end surfaces of thelongitudinal ribs 33 b and the transverse ribs 33 c formed on theopposing surface of the plate-like portion 33 a that opposes the firstabutment surface 57 at predetermined intervals correspond to contactsurfaces abutting against the first abutment surface 57 actually. Thefront end surfaces (contact surfaces) of the longitudinal ribs 33 b andthe transverse ribs 33 c formed on the opposing surface of theplate-like portion 33 a are located on substantially the same plane.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 7, the secondrotation preventing portion 34 is provided on the attachment portion 31.The second rotation preventing portion 34 is formed at a positionopposing the second abutment surface 58 formed on the battery housing 52in the assembled state (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, for example). The secondabutment surface 58 is formed on the battery housing 52 along thedirection intersecting with the first abutment surface 57, in thisexample, the direction orthogonal to the first abutment surface 57. Thesecond abutment surface 58 in the embodiment is formed on the wallsurface of the recess 56 formed on the post stand surface 55 of the lidmember 54 in the battery housing 52, the wall surface being orthogonalto the side surface of the battery housing 52 on which the firstabutment surface 57 is formed. That is to say, the second abutmentsurface 58 is formed on the wall surface defining the recess 56 formedinto the substantially rectangular shape, the wall surface being alongthe long-side direction. The second rotation preventing portion 34 abutsagainst the second abutment surface 58 in the assembled state so as tobe able to restrict the rotation of the battery terminal 2 around theaxial direction about the center axis line X of the battery post 51 asthe rotating center.

To be more specific, the second rotation preventing portion 34 isprovided to extend from the attachment portion 31, and includes aplate-like portion 34 a opposing the second abutment surface 58 in theassembled state and a plurality of coupling ribs 34 b coupling theplate-like portion 34 a to the attachment portion 31. The plate-likeportion 34 a is formed into a plate form along the long-side direction.The plate-like portion 34 a is provided to extend from the vicinity ofthe corner of the recess 56 to the plate-like portion 33 a along thelong-side direction in the assembled state and is substantiallyorthogonal to the plate-like portion 33 a. The plate-like portion 34 aincludes the coupling ribs 34 b formed on the rear surface of theopposing surface thereof opposing the second abutment surface 58. Thecoupling ribs 34 b are provided to extend to the attachment portion 31and reinforce a coupling portion between the plate-like portion 34 a andthe attachment portion 31. Furthermore, the opposing surface of theplate-like portion 34 a that opposes the second abutment surface 58corresponds to a contact surface abutting against the second abutmentsurface 58 actually. The plane including the opposing surface (contactsurface) of the plate-like portion 34 a is substantially orthogonal tothe plane including the front end surfaces (contact surfaces) of thelongitudinal ribs 33 b and the transverse ribs 33 c of the firstrotation preventing portion 33. That is to say, the first rotationpreventing portion 33 and the second rotation preventing portion 34intersect with each other in a substantially T-shaped form when seenfrom the above as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The battery terminal stopper 3 configured as described above constitutesthe battery terminal unit 1 together with the battery terminal 2 byattaching the attachment portion 31 to the battery terminal 2 (see FIG.5, for example). The battery terminal unit 1 is assembled on the batterypost 51 by inserting the battery post 51 into the post insertion hole 21f and the post insertion hole 21 g of the battery terminal 2. In theassembled state of the battery terminal unit 1, the first rotationpreventing portion 33 of the battery terminal stopper 3 abuts againstthe first abutment surface 57 of the battery housing 52 so as torestrict the rotation of the battery terminal 2 about the battery post51 as the rotating center. Alternatively, the second rotation preventingportion 34 abuts against the second abutment surface 58 of the batteryhousing 52 so as to restrict the rotation of the battery terminal 2about the battery post 51 as the rotating center. With thisconfiguration, the battery terminal unit 1 can limit the allowable rangeof the assembled angle of the battery terminal 2 with respect to thebattery post 51 to a relatively narrow range by the battery terminalstopper 3.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are partial plan views for explaining the allowablerange of the assembled angle of the battery terminal unit in the firstembodiment.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, in the battery terminal unit 1,when the battery terminal 2 rotates integrally with the battery terminalstopper 3 in the clockwise direction about the battery post 51 as therotating center, the second rotation preventing portion 34 abuts againstthe second abutment surface 58 before the first rotation preventingportion 33 abuts against the first abutment surface 57 so as to restrictthe rotation of the battery terminal 2. This configuration enables thebattery terminal stopper 3 to restrict the assembled angle of thebattery terminal 2 by the second rotation preventing portion 34. Incontrast, as illustrated in FIG. 9, in the battery terminal unit 1, whenthe battery terminal 2 rotates integrally with the battery terminalstopper 3 in the counter-clockwise direction about the battery post 51as the rotating center, the first rotation preventing portion 33 abutsagainst the first abutment surface 57 before the second rotationpreventing portion 34 abuts against the second abutment surface 58 so asto restrict the rotation of the battery terminal 2. This configurationenables the battery terminal stopper 3 to restrict the assembled angleof the battery terminal 2 by the first rotation preventing portion 33.

The first rotation preventing portion 33 of the battery terminal stopper3 abuts against the first abutment surface 57 first in any cases of therotation in the clockwise direction and the rotation in thecounter-clockwise direction in some cases depending on a magnituderelation between a clearance between the first rotation preventingportion 33 and the first abutment surface 57 and a clearance between thesecond rotation preventing portion 34 and the second abutment surface58. Note that the clearances can be generated in accordance with thedimensional tolerance (allowable dimensional error in manufacturing) ofthe attachment position dimension and the like of the battery post 51.In the same manner, the second rotation preventing portion 34 of thebattery terminal stopper 3 abuts against the second abutment surface 58first in any cases of the rotation in the clockwise direction and therotation in the counter-clockwise direction in some cases depending on amagnitude relation between the clearance between the first rotationpreventing portion 33 and the first abutment surface 57 and theclearance between the second rotation preventing portion 34 and thesecond abutment surface 58. In any of these cases, when the batteryterminal 2 rotates with respect to the battery post 51, any one of thefirst rotation preventing portion 33 and the second rotation preventingportion 34 with a smaller clearance to the opposing abutment surface(first abutment surface 57 or second abutment surface 58) abuts first,so that the battery terminal stopper 3 restricts the rotation of thebattery terminal 2 in the clockwise direction and restricts the rotationthereof in the counter-clockwise direction. With this configuration, thebattery terminal stopper 3 can limit the allowable range of theassembled angle of the battery terminal 2 with respect to the batterypost 51 to a relatively narrow range in comparison with the case whereany one of the first rotation preventing portion 33 and the secondrotation preventing portion 34 is not provided, for example.

The bolt 23 a and the nut 23 b of the clumping portion 23 are tightenedin the state where the battery terminal stopper 3 limits the allowablerange of the assembled angle with respect to the battery post 51 to therelatively narrow range as described above, so that the battery terminal2 is clumped to the battery post 51. As a result, the battery terminalunit 1 can reduce fluctuation of the assembled angle of the batteryterminal 2 within a relatively small angle range, thereby improving theassembling accuracy of the battery terminal 2 on the battery post 51.Accordingly, for example, the battery terminal unit 1 enables thebattery terminal 2 to be assembled and clumped onto the battery post 51at an appropriate assembled angle required in manufacturing. This canprevent components that are assembled on the battery terminal 2 frominterfering with other components on the vehicle in the state where thebattery 50 is mounted on the vehicle or the like.

The battery terminal unit 1 is configured by integrally forming theattachment portion 31, the first rotation preventing portion 33, and thesecond rotation preventing portion 34, and the attachment portion 31 isinterposed between the battery terminal 2 and the lid member 54 of thebattery housing 52 in the assembled state. In other words, in thebattery terminal unit 1, the battery terminal stopper 3 is attached tothe battery terminal 2 as described above, and then, the batteryterminal 2 and the battery terminal stopper 3 are integrally assembledon the battery post 51. With this configuration, the attachment portion31 is interposed between the battery terminal 2 and the lid member 54.In this case, for example, in the battery terminal unit 1, when a workerinserts the battery post 51 into the post insertion hole 21 f and thepost insertion hole 21 g of the battery terminal 2, the first rotationpreventing portion 33 and the second rotation preventing portion 34function as a positioning mechanism of the battery terminal unit 1 inthe horizontal direction. This enables the battery post 51 to beinserted into the post insertion hole 21 f and the post insertion hole21 g easily. That is to say, in the battery terminal unit 1, the firstrotation preventing portion 33 abuts against the first abutment surface57 and the second rotation preventing portion 34 abuts against thesecond abutment surface 58 so as to guide an operation of inserting thebattery post 51 into the post insertion hole 21 f and the post insertionhole 21 g while positioning the battery terminal unit 1 in theshort-side direction and the long-side direction. As a result, in thebattery terminal unit 1, the first rotation preventing portion 33 andthe second rotation preventing portion 34 function as guide members forinserting the battery post 51 into the post insertion hole 21 f and thepost insertion hole 21 g, thereby improving operability when the batteryterminal 2 is assembled on the battery post 51.

The battery terminal unit 1 as described above includes the batteryterminal 2 and the battery terminal stopper 3. The battery terminal 2 isassembled on the battery post 51 provided on the battery housing 52. Thebattery terminal stopper 3 includes the attachment portion 31, the firstrotation preventing portion 33, and the second rotation preventingportion 34. The attachment portion 31 can be attached to the batteryterminal 2. The first rotation preventing portion 33 is provided on theattachment portion 31, opposes the first abutment surface 57 formed onthe side surface of the battery housing 52 and abuts against the firstabutment surface 57 in the state where the battery terminal 2 isassembled on the battery post 51 together with the attachment portion 31so as to be able to restrict the rotation of the battery terminal 2about the battery post 51 as the rotating center. The second rotationpreventing portion 34 is provided on the attachment portion 31, opposesthe second abutment surface 58 formed on the battery housing 52 alongthe direction intersecting with the first abutment surface 57 and abutsagainst the second abutment surface 58 in the state where the batteryterminal 2 is assembled on the battery post 51 together with theattachment portion 31 so as to be able to restrict the rotation of thebattery terminal 2 about the battery post 51 as the rotating center.Accordingly, the battery terminal unit 1 and the battery terminalstopper 3 can limit the allowable range of the assembled angle of thebattery terminal 2 with respect to the battery post 51 to the relativelynarrow range, thereby improving the assembling accuracy of the batteryterminal 2 on the battery post 51.

Furthermore, with the battery terminal unit 1 described above, thesecond abutment surface 58 is formed on the wall surface of the recess56 that is formed on the post stand surface 55 provided with the batterypost 51 in the battery housing 52 and on which the battery post 51 isprovided upright, the wall surface being orthogonal to the side surfaceof the battery housing 52 on which the first abutment surface 57 isformed. That is, the second abutment surface 58 as the abutment surfaceof the second rotation preventing portion 34 is formed on the wallsurface of the recess 56 formed on the post stand surface 55. With thisconfiguration, the battery terminal unit 1 and the battery terminalstopper 3 can make a projecting portion of the battery terminal stopper3 from the contour of the battery housing 52 relatively small in theassembled state to save space, and can improve the assembling accuracyof the battery terminal 2.

Furthermore, with the battery terminal unit 1 described above, the firstrotation preventing portion 33 and the second rotation preventingportion 34 are formed integrally with the attachment portion 31. Theattachment portion 31 is interposed between the battery terminal 2 andthe battery housing 52 in the state where the battery terminal 2 isassembled on the battery post 51 together with the attachment portion31. Accordingly, in the battery terminal unit 1 and the battery terminalstopper 3, the first rotation preventing portion 33 and the secondrotation preventing portion 34 function as the guide members forinserting the battery post 51 into the post insertion hole 21 f and thepost insertion hole 21 g, thereby improving operability when the batteryterminal 2 is assembled on the battery post 51.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of a battery terminal unit according to a secondembodiment. FIG. 11 is a partial plan view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of the battery terminal unit in the second embodiment.FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of the battery terminal unit in the second embodiment.FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating the schematic configurationof the battery terminal unit in the second embodiment. Positions of asecond abutment surface and a second rotation preventing portion in abattery terminal stopper and the battery terminal unit in the secondembodiment are different from those in the first embodiment. Inaddition, overlapped description of configurations, actions, effectscommon to those in the above-mentioned embodiment are omitted as much aspossible (the same holds true for the following embodiment andmodifications).

A battery terminal unit 201 in the embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 10,FIG. 11, FIG. 12, and FIG. 13 includes the battery terminal 2 and abattery terminal stopper 203. The battery terminal stopper 203 in theembodiment includes the attachment portion 31, the lid portion 32, thefirst rotation preventing portion 33, and a second rotation preventingportion 234. In this embodiment, the positions of the lid portion 32 andthe lock portion 32 a are different from those in the first embodiment.

The second rotation preventing portion 234 is provided on the attachmentportion 31. The second rotation preventing portion 234 is formed at aposition opposing a second abutment surface 258 formed on the batteryhousing 52 in the assembled state (see FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, forexample). The second abutment surface 258 is formed on the batteryhousing 52 along the direction intersecting with the first abutmentsurface 57, in this example, along the direction orthogonal to the firstabutment surface 57. The second abutment surface 258 in the embodimentis formed on the side surface of the battery housing 52 that isorthogonal to the side surface of the battery housing 52 on which thefirst abutment surface 57 is formed, in this embodiment, the sidesurface being along the long-side direction in the vicinity of therecess 56 formed on the post stand surface 55 of the lid member 54. Thesecond rotation preventing portion 234 abuts against the second abutmentsurface 258 in the assembled state so as to be able to restrict rotationof the battery terminal 2 around the axial direction about the centeraxis line X of the battery post 51 as the rotating center.

To be more specific, the second rotation preventing portion 234 isprovided to extend from the attachment portion 31, and includes aplate-like portion 234 a opposing the second abutment surface 258 in theassembled state, and a plurality of longitudinal ribs 234 b and aplurality of transverse ribs 234 c for reinforcing the plate-likeportion 234 a. The plate-like portion 234 a is formed into a plate formalong the long-side direction. The plate-like portion 234 a is providedto extend from the position in the vicinity of the corner of the lidmember 54 to the vicinity of the wall surface defining the recess 56 inthe assembled state along the long-side direction. The plate-likeportion 234 a includes the longitudinal ribs 234 b and the transverseribs 234 c that are formed on an opposing surface opposing the secondabutment surface 258 and the rear surface of the opposing surface. Thelongitudinal ribs 234 b are projecting reinforcing portions extendingalong the axial direction and the transverse ribs 234 c are projectingreinforcing portions extending along the long-side direction. Some ofthe longitudinal ribs 234 b are provided to extend to the attachmentportion 31 so as to reinforce a coupling portion between the plate-likeportion 234 a and the attachment portion 31. Furthermore, the front endsurfaces of the longitudinal ribs 234 b and the transverse ribs 234 cformed on the opposing surface of the plate-like portion 234 a thatopposes the second abutment surface 258 at predetermined intervalscorrespond to contact surfaces abutting against the second abutmentsurface 258 actually. The front end surfaces (contact surfaces) of thelongitudinal ribs 234 b and the transverse ribs 234 c formed on theopposing surface of the plate-like portion 234 a are located onsubstantially the same plane. The plane including the front end surfaces(contact surfaces) of the longitudinal ribs 234 b and the transverseribs 234 c of the second rotation preventing portion 234 issubstantially orthogonal to the plane including the front end surfaces(contact surfaces) of the longitudinal ribs 33 b and the transverse ribs33 c of the first rotation preventing portion 33. That is to say, thefirst rotation preventing portion 33 and the second rotation preventingportion 234 intersect with each other in a substantially L-shaped formwhen seen from the above as illustrated in FIG. 11.

The battery terminal stopper 203 configured as described aboveconstitutes the battery terminal unit 201 together with the batteryterminal 2 by attaching the attachment portion 31 to the batteryterminal 2 (see FIG. 13, for example). In the assembled state of thebattery terminal unit 201, the first rotation preventing portion 33 ofthe battery terminal stopper 203 abuts against the first abutmentsurface 57 of the battery housing 52 so as to restrict the rotation ofthe battery terminal 2 about the battery post 51 as the rotating center.Alternatively, the second rotation preventing portion 234 abuts againstthe second abutment surface 258 of the battery housing 52 so as torestrict the rotation of the battery terminal 2 about the battery post51 as the rotating center. With this configuration, the battery terminalunit 201 can limit the allowable range of the assembled angle of thebattery terminal 2 with respect to the battery post 51 to a relativelynarrow range by the battery terminal stopper 203.

The battery terminal unit 201 and the battery terminal stopper 203described above can limit the allowable range of the assembled angle ofthe battery terminal 2 with respect to the battery post 51 to therelatively narrow range, thereby improving the assembling accuracy ofthe battery terminal 2 on the battery post 51.

Furthermore, with the battery terminal unit 201 described above, thesecond abutment surface 258 is formed on the side surface of the batteryhousing 52 that is orthogonal to the side surface of the battery housing52 on which the first abutment surface 57 is formed. That is, the secondabutment surface 258 as the abutment surface of the second rotationpreventing portion 234 is formed on the side surface that is orthogonalto the first abutment surface 57. With this configuration, the batteryterminal unit 201 and the battery terminal stopper 203 enables thesecond rotation preventing portion 234 having an appropriate size to beprovided, thereby improving the assembling accuracy of the batteryterminal more reliably.

The battery terminal stopper and the battery terminal unit in theabove-mentioned embodiments of the invention are not limited to those inthe above-mentioned embodiments, and various changes can be made in arange described in the scope of the appended claims. The batteryterminal stopper and the battery terminal unit in the embodiment may beconfigured by appropriately combining constituent components in therespective embodiments as described above.

Although the battery terminal 2 is configured by press foldingprocessing of the metal plate having conductivity, the invention is notlimited thereto. Moreover, the positional relation among the batteryterminal 2, the first rotation preventing portion 33, and the secondrotation preventing portion 34 or 234 in the state where the batteryterminal stopper 3 or 203 is attached to the battery terminal 2 may beadjusted appropriately in accordance with the assembled angle requiredin manufacturing.

The battery terminal stopper 3 or 203 of the battery terminal unit 1 or201 described above includes the attachment portion 31, the firstrotation preventing portion 33, and the second rotation preventingportion 34 or 234. The attachment portion 31 is capable of beingattached to the battery terminal 2. The first rotation preventingportion 33 is provided on the attachment portion 31, opposes the firstabutment surface 57 formed on the battery housing 52 and abuts againstthe first abutment surface 57 in the state where the battery terminal 2is assembled on the battery post 51 together with the attachment portion31 so as to be able to restrict the rotation of the battery terminal 2about the battery post 51 as the rotating center. The second rotationpreventing portion 34 or 234 is provided on the attachment portion 31,opposes the second abutment surface 58 or 258 formed on the surface ofthe battery housing 52 that is different from the first abutment surface57 and abuts against the second abutment surface 58 or 258 in the statewhere the battery terminal 2 is assembled on the battery post 51together with the attachment portion 31 so as to be able to restrict therotation of the battery terminal 2 about the battery post 51 as therotating center. In the battery terminal stopper 3, the surface of thebattery housing 52 that is different from the first abutment surface 57and on which the second abutment surface 58 is formed corresponds to thewall surface of the recess 56 formed on the post stand surface 55 andthe wall surface that is orthogonal to the side surface of the batteryhousing 52 on which the first abutment surface 57 is formed. On theother hand, in the battery terminal stopper 203, the surface of thebattery housing 52 that is different from the first abutment surface 57and on which the second abutment surface 258 is formed corresponds tothe side surface of the battery housing 52 that is orthogonal to theside surface of the battery housing 52 on which the first abutmentsurface 57 is formed, that is, corresponds to the side surface along thelong-side direction in the vicinity of the recess 56 formed on the poststand surface 55 of the lid member 54. The positions of the respectiverotation preventing portions and the positional relations of therespective abutment surfaces are not limited to those described above.The following describes modifications with reference to FIG. 14 to FIG.17.

Modifications

FIG. 14, FIG. 15, FIG. 16, and FIG. 17 are partial plan viewsillustrating the schematic configuration of a battery terminal unitaccording to a modification. Positions of respective rotation preventingportions of battery terminal units 301, 401, 501, and 601 according tothe modifications as illustrated in FIG. 14 to FIG. 17 are differentfrom those in the first embodiment and the second embodiment describedabove.

The battery terminal unit 301 according to the modification illustratedin FIG. 14 includes the battery terminal 2 and a battery terminalstopper 303. The battery terminal stopper 303 in the modificationincludes the attachment portion 31, the lid portion 32, the firstrotation preventing portion 33, and a second rotation preventing portion334.

The second rotation preventing portion 334 is provided on the attachmentportion 31. The second rotation preventing portion 334 is formed at aposition opposing a second abutment surface 358 formed on the batteryhousing 52 in the assembled state. The second abutment surface 358 isformed on the surface of the battery housing 52 that is different fromthe first abutment surface 57. The second abutment surface 358 in themodification is formed on the wall surface of the recess 56 formed onthe post stand surface 55 of the lid member 54 in the battery housing52, the wall surface opposing the side surface of the battery housing 52on which the first abutment surface 57 is formed substantially inparallel. That is to say, the second abutment surface 358 is formed onthe wall surface defining the recess 56 formed into a substantiallyrectangular shape, the wall surface being along the short-sidedirection. The second rotation preventing portion 334 abuts against thesecond abutment surface 358 in the assembled state so as to restrict therotation of the battery terminal 2 around the axial direction about thebattery post 51 as the rotating center.

To be more specific, the second rotation preventing portion 334 isprovided to extend from the attachment portion 31, and includes aplate-like portion 334 a opposing the second abutment surface 358 in theassembled state and a plurality of coupling ribs 334 b coupling theplate-like portion 334 a to the attachment portion 31. The plate-likeportion 334 a is formed into a plate form along the short-sidedirection. The plate-like portion 334 a is provided to extend along thewall surface defining the recess 56, the wall surface being along theshort-side direction in the assembled state, and is substantiallyparallel with the plate-like portion 33 a. The plate-like portion 334 aincludes the coupling ribs 334 b formed on the rear surface of theopposing surface thereof opposing the second abutment surface 358. Thecoupling ribs 334 b are provided to extend to the attachment portion 31and reinforce a coupling portion between the plate-like portion 334 aand the attachment portion 31. Furthermore, the opposing surface of theplate-like portion 334 a that opposes the second abutment surface 358corresponds to a contact surface abutting against the second abutmentsurface 358 actually. The plane including the opposing surface (contactsurface) of the plate-like portion 334 a is substantially parallel withthe plane including the front end surfaces (contact surfaces) of thelongitudinal ribs 33 b and the transverse ribs 33 c of the firstrotation preventing portion 33. That is to say, the first rotationpreventing portion 33 and the second rotation preventing portion 334 aresubstantially parallel with each other when seen from the above asillustrated in FIG. 14.

The battery terminal unit 401 according to the modification asillustrated in FIG. 15 includes the battery terminal 2 and a batteryterminal stopper 403. The battery terminal stopper 403 in themodification includes the attachment portion 31, the lid portion 32, afirst rotation preventing portion 433, and the second rotationpreventing portion 34. The first rotation preventing portion 433 hassubstantially the same configuration as the above-mentioned secondrotation preventing portion 234 (see FIG. 11). A first abutment surface457 has substantially the same configuration as the second abutmentsurface 258 (see FIG. 11). The second abutment surface 58 against whichthe second rotation preventing portion 34 in the modification abuts isformed on the surface of the battery housing 52 that is different fromthe first abutment surface 457.

The first rotation preventing portion 433 is provided on the attachmentportion 31. The first rotation preventing portion 433 is formed at aposition opposing the first abutment surface 457 formed on the batteryhousing 52 in the assembled state. The first abutment surface 457 isformed on the surface of the battery housing 52 that is different fromthe second abutment surface 58. The first abutment surface 457 in themodification is formed on the side surface of the battery housing 52that is parallel with the second abutment surface 58, in this example,on the side surface along the long-side direction in the vicinity of therecess 56 formed on the post stand surface 55 of the lid member 54. Thefirst rotation preventing portion 433 abuts against the first abutmentsurface 457 in the assembled state so as to restrict rotation of thebattery terminal 2 around the axial direction about the center axis lineX of the battery post 51 as the rotating center.

To be more specific, the first rotation preventing portion 433 isprovided to extend from the attachment portion 31, and includes aplate-like portion 433 a opposing the first abutment surface 457 in theassembled state, and a plurality of longitudinal ribs 433 b and aplurality of transverse ribs 433 c for reinforcing the plate-likeportion 433 a. The plate-like portion 433 a is formed into a plate formalong the long-side direction. The plate-like portion 433 a, thelongitudinal ribs 433 b, and the transverse ribs 433 c havesubstantially the same configurations as the plate-like portion 234 a(see FIG. 11), the longitudinal ribs 234 b (see FIG. 11), and thetransverse ribs 234 c (see FIG. 11), respectively. The plane includingthe front end surfaces (contact surfaces) of the longitudinal ribs 433 band the transverse ribs 433 c formed on the opposing surface of theplate-like portion 433 a that opposes the first abutment surface 457 aresubstantially parallel with the plane including the opposing surface(contact surface) of the plate-like portion 34 a of the second rotationpreventing portion 34. That is to say, the first rotation preventingportion 433 and the second rotation preventing portion 34 aresubstantially parallel with each other when seen from the above asillustrated in FIG. 15.

The battery terminal unit 501 according to the modification illustratedin FIG. 16 includes the battery terminal 2 and a battery terminalstopper 503. The battery terminal stopper 503 in the modificationincludes the attachment portion 31, the lid portion 32, a first rotationpreventing portion 533, and the second rotation preventing portion 34.The first rotation preventing portion 533 has substantially the sameconfiguration as the above-mentioned second rotation preventing portion334 (see FIG. 14). Furthermore, a first abutment surface 557 againstwhich the first rotation preventing portion 533 abuts has substantiallythe same configuration as the above-mentioned second abutment surface358 (see FIG. 14). The second abutment surface 58 against which thesecond rotation preventing portion 34 in the modification abuts isformed on the surface of the battery housing 52 that is different fromthe first abutment surface 557.

The first rotation preventing portion 533 is provided on the attachmentportion 31. The first rotation preventing portion 533 is formed at aposition opposing the first abutment surface 557 formed on the batteryhousing 52 in the assembled state. The first abutment surface 557 isformed on the surface of the battery housing 52 that is different fromthe second abutment surface 58. The first abutment surface 557 in themodification is formed on the wall surface of the recess 56 formed onthe post stand surface 55 of the lid member 54 in the battery housing52, the wall surface being orthogonal to the wall surface of the recess56 on which the second abutment surface 58 is formed. That is to say,the first abutment surface 557 is formed on the wall surface definingthe recess 56 formed into a substantially rectangular shape, the wallsurface being along the short-side direction. The first rotationpreventing portion 533 abuts against the first abutment surface 557 inthe assembled state so as to restrict the rotation of the batteryterminal 2 around the axial direction about the battery post 51 as therotating center.

To be more specific, the first rotation preventing portion 533 isprovided to extend from the attachment portion 31, and includes aplate-like portion 533 a opposing the first abutment surface 557 in theassembled state and a plurality of coupling ribs 533 b coupling theplate-like portion 533 a to the attachment portion 31. The plate-likeportion 533 a and the coupling ribs 533 b have substantially the sameconfigurations as the plate-like portion 334 a (see FIG. 14) and thecoupling ribs 334 b (see FIG. 14), respectively. Some of the couplingribs 533 b also serve as the coupling ribs 34 b. The plane including theopposing surface (contact surface) of the plate-like portion 533 a issubstantially orthogonal to the plane including the opposing surface(contact surface) of the plate-like portion 34 a of the second rotationpreventing portion 34. That is to say, the first rotation preventingportion 533 and the second rotation preventing portion 34 intersect witheach other in a substantially L-shaped form when seen from the above asillustrated in FIG. 16.

The battery terminal unit 601 according to the modification illustratedin FIG. 17 includes the battery terminal 2 and a battery terminalstopper 603. The battery terminal stopper 603 in the modificationincludes the attachment portion 31, the lid portion 32, the firstrotation preventing portion 433, and the second rotation preventingportion 334. The first rotation preventing portion 433 and the firstabutment surface 457 against which the first rotation preventing portion433 abuts have substantially the same configurations as those in FIG.15. The second rotation preventing portion 334 and the second abutmentsurface 358 against which the second rotation preventing portion 334abuts have substantially the same configurations as those in FIG. 14.The second abutment surface 358 in the modification is formed on thesurface of the battery housing 52 that is different from the firstabutment surface 457. The first abutment surface 457 is formed on theside surface of the battery housing 52 along the long-side direction ofthe lid member 54, and the second abutment surface 358 is formed on thebattery housing 52 along the direction intersecting with the firstabutment surface 457. To be more specific, the second abutment surface358 is formed on the wall surface of the recess 56 formed on the poststand surface 55 of the lid member 54 on which the battery post 51 isprovided upright in the battery housing 52, the wall surface beingorthogonal to the side surface of the battery housing 52 on which thefirst abutment surface 457 is formed. The first rotation preventingportion 433 and the second rotation preventing portion 334 in themodification intersect with each other in a substantially T-shaped formwhen seen from the above as illustrated in FIG. 17.

With any of the battery terminal stopper and the battery terminal unitaccording to the embodiments and the modifications described above, theallowable range of the assembled angle of the battery terminal 2 withrespect to the battery post 51 can be limited to the relatively narrowrange, thereby improving the assembling accuracy of the battery terminal2 on the battery post 51.

In the battery terminal stopper and the battery terminal unit accordingto the invention, the first rotation preventing portion abuts againstthe first abutment surface of the battery housing so as to restrictrotation of the battery terminal or the second rotation preventingportion abuts against the second abutment surface of the battery housingso as to restrict the rotation of the battery terminal. This can limitthe allowable range of the assembled angle of the battery terminal withrespect to the battery post to the relatively narrow range, therebyachieving an effect that the assembling accuracy of the battery terminalon the battery post.

Although the invention has been described with respect to specificembodiments for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims arenot to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying allmodifications and alternative constructions that may occur to oneskilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein setforth.

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery terminal stopper comprising: anattachment portion capable of being attached to a battery terminal thatis assembled on a battery post provided on a battery housing; a firstrotation preventing portion configured to be provided on the attachmentportion, oppose a first abutment surface formed on a side surface of thebattery housing, and abut against the first abutment surface in a statewhere the battery terminal is assembled on the battery post togetherwith the attachment portion so as to be able to restrict rotation of thebattery terminal about the battery post as a rotating center; and asecond rotation preventing portion configured to be provided on theattachment portion, oppose a second abutment surface formed on thebattery housing along a direction intersecting with the first abutmentsurface, and abut against the second abutment surface in the state wherethe battery terminal is assembled on the battery post together with theattachment portion so as to be able to restrict rotation of the batteryterminal about the battery post as the rotating center.
 2. The batteryterminal stopper according to claim 1, wherein the second abutmentsurface is formed on a wall surface of a recess that is formed on a poststand surface provided with the battery post and on which the batterypost is provided upright in the battery housing, the wall surface beingorthogonal to the side surface of the battery housing on which the firstabutment surface is formed.
 3. The battery terminal stopper according toclaim 1, wherein the second abutment surface is formed on a side surfaceof the battery housing that is orthogonal to the side surface of thebattery housing on which the first abutment surface is formed.
 4. Thebattery terminal stopper according to claim 1, wherein the firstrotation preventing portion and the second rotation preventing portionare formed integrally with the attachment portion, and the attachmentportion is interposed between the battery terminal and the batteryhousing in a state where the battery terminal is assembled on thebattery post together with the attachment portion.
 5. The batteryterminal stopper according to claim 2, wherein the first rotationpreventing portion and the second rotation preventing portion are formedintegrally with the attachment portion, and the attachment portion isinterposed between the battery terminal and the battery housing in astate where the battery terminal is assembled on the battery posttogether with the attachment portion.
 6. The battery terminal stopperaccording to claim 3, wherein the first rotation preventing portion andthe second rotation preventing portion are formed integrally with theattachment portion, and the attachment portion is interposed between thebattery terminal and the battery housing in a state where the batteryterminal is assembled on the battery post together with the attachmentportion.
 7. A battery terminal unit comprising: a battery terminalconfigured to be assembled on a battery post provided on a batteryhousing; and a battery terminal stopper configured to include anattachment portion capable of being attached to the battery terminal, afirst rotation preventing portion that is provided on the attachmentportion, opposes a first abutment surface formed on a side surface ofthe battery housing and abuts against the first abutment surface in astate where the battery terminal is assembled on the battery posttogether with the attachment portion so as to be able to restrictrotation of the battery terminal about the battery post as a rotatingcenter, and a second rotation preventing portion that is provided on theattachment portion, opposes a second abutment surface formed on thebattery housing along a direction intersecting with the first abutmentsurface and abuts against the second abutment surface in the state wherethe battery terminal is assembled on the battery post together with theattachment portion so as to be able to restrict rotation of the batteryterminal about the battery post as the rotating center.